Hamburg drops legal threat against Hilke as settlement reached

Soccer - 17 Jul 2017

Author: Martin Ross

Hamburg, the top-tier German soccer club, will not pursue legal action against Joachim Hilke after reaching a settlement with its former marketing chairman.

Hilke, the previously the chief executive of the international unit at the Sportfive agency, left his post at Hamburg in March despite his contract still having three months to run and amid a legal row over his association with Match IQ, the agency that organises friendly matches, training camps and exhibition tournaments.

Hilke wanted to take up the position of chief executive of Match IQ, but the club ended its agreement with the agency amid allegations of improper behaviour on Hilke’s behalf.

The Bundseliga outfit has announced that the dispute with its former employee has now been settled, adding: “Both parties have reached an agreement, the details of which they agree to keep confidential.”

The club stated that it has “no further interest in a prosecution against Joachim Hilke.”

Issuing a statement in March relating to the allegations, Hilke vehemently denied that he “indirectly or directly had a stake in Match IQ” or that he “has personally received any advantages from the agency relationship.”

Nicholas MacGowan, Match IQ’s managing director, who worked alongside Hilke at Hamburg, also went on the offensive at the time, saying: “I am completely convinced that we are in no way to blame. We are currently legally examining the termination of the Hamburg agreement without notice. One thing is certain – Hamburg earned a lot of money through the work of Match IQ.”

Hilke claimed that he helped MacGowan find investors for Match IQ.

He also said that he received the offer of the Match IQ managing director position after his “operational retirement” from Hamburg at the end of last year, but that he could not make a commitment to the agency “until all the facts are fully cleared up” given the “rumours and to protect my personal and professional reputation.”

Hilke joined Hamburg in 2011, having filled various positions in his 12 years at Sportfive (where MacGowan was also a colleague).

In 2013, Hamburg extended its marketing contract with Sportfive until the end of the 2019-20 season, as the club decided against taking its sponsorship and hospitality rights sales in-house, albeit negotiating a reduction on the commissions paid.